Clarke died from natural causes while bushwalking in Victoria over the weekend.

"John died doing one of the things he loved the most in the world, taking photos of birds in beautiful bushland with his wife and friends. He is forever in our hearts," his family said in a statement issued by the ABC.

"We are aware of what he has meant to so many for so many years, throughout the world but especially in Australia and New Zealand.

"We are very grateful for all expressions of sympathy and love which John would have greatly appreciated."

Clarke was born in New Zealand but made his name as a comedian and political satirist in Australia after arriving in the 1970s.

Clarke remembered as 'more than a satirist'

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, an occasional target of Clarke and Dawe, said Clarke was "more than a satirist", who was to be celebrated for his "canny knack of saying just enough to hit the target, and no more".

"He was a staunch advocate and mentor for so many in the comedy industry over so many years," Harmer said.

Actor Gina Riley, who starred with Clarke in the series The Games, said you knew when he walked on the set "the party was about to begin".

"There are so many bloopers and out takes in The Games as I found it hard to act with John because there was always a twinkle in his eye and he would make me laugh during almost every scene we had together," she said.

"Knowing and working with John was a masterclass in not only how to be funny but how to be a great human being."

Actor Max Gillies said Clarke was the "perfect comedian's comedian".

"Politicians go on about Australian values. Australian families. ANZAC values. Well John, represented the best of them," he said.

"Whatever they are. He was everyman. And we miss him and it makes no sense that he would be taken so quickly."

New Zealand film director and actor Taika Waititi called Clarke the "Phar Lap of comedy".

"John Clarke spent most of his career in Australia. Now we'll claim him back," he tweeted.

"[He was] hugely influential to me and my mates, he was one of the fathers of NZ's style of comedy. We all copied him at some point."

ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie said the unexpected loss would be felt by everyone at the ABC, and by audiences across Australia who had come to love his biting sense of humour.

"Australian audiences have relied on John Clarke for always getting to the heart of how many Australians felt about the politics of the day and tearing down the hypocrisy and at times absurdity of elements of our national debate," she said.

Covering nearly one-third of the continent, in deserts with poor soils, humble Australian spinifex grasses contain nano-sized particles that can amp the performance of a range of everyday items, researcher Nasim Amiralian writes.

Former treasurer Wayne Swan says that real private sector wages have grown by just 1 per cent under the Abbott and Turnbull governments, which he says equates to only one year of growth under the previous Labor government.